What is the budget of Criminal?

"Criminal," an action released in 2016, was directed by Ariel Vromen and stars Kevin Costner, Gary Oldman. The production budget was $31,500,000, placing it in the mid-budget range for action productions of its era.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

While specific budget breakdowns are not publicly available, typical cost drivers for an action production like this include:

Stunts, Action Sequences & Visual Effects: Action films allocate a substantial portion of their budget to choreographing and executing practical stunts, pyrotechnics, and CGI-heavy sequences.
Above-the-Line Talent (Cast & Director): A-list talent commands significant upfront fees plus backend participation.
Production Design, Sets & Locations: Action films frequently require multiple international shooting locations, large-scale set construction, vehicle acquisitions and modifications, and specialized equipment , all of which drive production costs well above those of dialogue-driven genres.
Development: On June 20, 2013, it was announced that Millennium Films had acquired the script for Criminal, written by Douglas Cook and David Weisberg, an action film in which a dead CIA operative's memories, secrets, and skills are implanted into a dangerous criminal, who is sent on a government mission.

What were the major cost factors in Criminal?

Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "Criminal."

Stunts: Stunts, Action Sequences & Visual Effects is one of the primary cost drivers in action productions of this scale.
Above-the-Line Talent (Cast: Above-the-Line Talent (Cast & Director) is one of the primary cost drivers in action productions of this scale.
Production Design: Production Design, Sets & Locations is one of the primary cost drivers in action productions of this scale.

How Does Criminal's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $31,500,000, Criminal sits in the mid-budget range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:

Apocalypse Now (1979): Budget $31,500,000, Worldwide Gross $150,000,000
A History of Violence (2005): Budget $32,000,000, Worldwide Gross $61,477,797
Alive (1993): Budget $32,000,000, Worldwide Gross $36,700,000
Arachnophobia (1990): Budget $31,000,000, Worldwide Gross $53,200,000
Arlington Road (1999): Budget $31,000,000, Worldwide Gross $41,100,000

The median budget for wide-release action films in the 2010s ranges from $30 to 80M for mid-budget to $150M+ for tentpoles.

Criminal Box Office Performance

"Criminal" earned $14,708,696 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $31,500,000, the film faced challenges in theatrical release. Home video, streaming, and ancillary revenue may have contributed to its overall performance.

A film typically needs to earn approximately twice its production budget to cover marketing and distribution costs. For "Criminal," that break-even threshold was roughly $63,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $14,708,696, the film did not reach break-even in theatrical release.

Production Budget: $31,500,000
Worldwide Gross: $14,708,696
Net Return: −$16,791,304
ROI: approximately -53.3%

At -53.3%, "Criminal" did not recoup its production budget through theatrical release alone.

Criminal Production History

On June 20, 2013, it was announced that Millennium Films had acquired the script for Criminal, written by Douglas Cook and David Weisberg, an action film in which a dead CIA operative's memories, secrets, and skills are implanted into a dangerous criminal, who is sent on a government mission. J.C. Spink, Chris Bender, Matt O'Toole and Mark Gill were initially announced as producers, with Boaz Davidson later joining the production.

On June 17, 2014, Kevin Costner was cast to play a dangerous criminal with a dead CIA operative's skills, secrets, and memories implanted into him to finish a job. On July 10, Gary Oldman was in talks to join the film to play the CIA chief. On July 23, Tommy Lee Jones joined the film to play a neuroscientist who transplants the memories to the criminal, while Oldman's role was also confirmed.

Principal photography on the film began on September 4, 2014, in London. Some actors and crews were also spotted filming scenes for the film on King's Road in Kingston. From September 22 to 25, filming was taking place in Yateley, Hampshire, where actors were spotted filming car crashes and helicopter chase scenes at the Blackbushe Airport.